TALKING TACTICS: Swans v Leicester City
12th February
Ahead of the Premier League meeting with defending champions Leicester City at the Liberty, we have teamed up with football stats experts WhoScored.com to preview Sunday's encounter.
The Swans were desperately unlucky not to come away from the Etihad Stadium with a share of the spoils last time out as a late Gabriel Jesus strike secured Manchester City all three points.
There were plenty of positives to take from that game and Paul Clement will now demand his players return to winning ways at Leicester at the weekend.
Swansea have won three of their last five league matches as they look to take a huge leap up the Premier League table.
The defending Premier League champions may have overcome teams with ease last term, but are struggling with their domestic commitments.
Indeed, they have failed to score a Premier League goal in 2017, while only Burnley (one) have won fewer away points than the Foxes (three) in England's top tier this term.
Swansea have won three of their last four home league meetings with Leicester, with Clement's side going into this tie as favourites and for good reason.
Only a handful of teams have conceded more away goals than Leicester (25) this season, while the Foxes have hit the back of the net just eight times from 12 away games in the Premier League this term
Leroy Fer's return to the first team fold could be crucial in the pursuit of three points once more, with the Dutchman starting the last three Premier League games under Clement.
His WhoScored.com rating (6.94) is second only to Gylfi Sigurdsson (7.25) of all Swansea players this season, while only the Icelander and Fernando Llorente (both eight) have scored more league goals than Fer (six) for the club this term.
His goalscoring exploits from deep means Swansea score more goals per game when he starts (1.31) than when he does not (1) and he - among others - certainly have the means to put the Leicester backline to the sword.
Having developed a statistically-calculated WhoScored.com strength of 'defensive contribution' also, Fer boasts the necessary resilience to ensure the Foxes' goalscoring woes continue on the road at the weekend.
Conversely, he'll need to get the better of January arrival Wilfred Ndidi if he is to add to his six league goals this season.
Ndidi joined from Genk at the turn of the year as Leicester aim to bring in a player capable of replicating the performances of former key man N'Golo Kante in the middle of the park.
The Nigerian youngster opened his goalscoring account in the 3-1 FA Cup win over Derby in midweek, yet with the Foxes taken to extra time, fatigue could play a part in who comes out victorious at the Liberty Stadium this weekend.
Fer boasts the ideal combination of defensive resilience and offensive thrust to ensure Leicester's league woes are prolonged, with Swansea more than capable of putting another three points on the board at the Foxes' expense this weekend.
*WhoScored.com is a unique website and one of the fastest growing in the sports industry, specialising in the in-depth analysis of detailed football data. Provided with unique stats, they compile and create comprehensive analysis on the major European divisions, including live match stats and player ratings. You can follow @WhoScored and their editorial officer Ben McAleer on Twitter.
